Gadget

Monday, December 29, 2014

In
“Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” Ben Stiller returns as
security guard Larry Daley, together with a highly impressive group
of comic actors. Owen Wilson is back as the irrepressible
miniature cowboy Jedediah, along with his equally small buddy, the
Roman general, Octavius, (Steve Coogan). Both are embroiled in the
latest adventure, directed by Shawn Levy. As always, the legendary
artifacts at New York’s Museum of Natural History come to life, but
this time, problems arise when they start malfunctioning. The
magic that keeps them alive is waning and Larry’s friends are in
danger. Saving them involves an urgent trip to the British Museum in
London.

While
the first two films were set in the U.S., the new adventure takes the
team to the United Kingdom. Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan,
reprise their roles as the duo of American cowboy Jedediah and Roman
Centurion Octavius, both miniatures from historic dioramas. They’re
the smallest characters with the biggest friendship. Wilson
says, “There has been an arc to our relationship. We
started off sort of as adversaries, and now it’s evolved into more
of a team. We’re practically a buddy comedy within a
funny family movie.”

The
friendship is all the more unexpected because the characters come
from very different cultural backgrounds and eras. “There’s
a brashness to Jedediah,” says Wilson, “that sort of runs up
against and chafes the gentility of what Octavius represents.” The
picture of civility, Octavius is a military leader from ancient
Rome. He and Jedediah face their greatest peril yet when
they fly through a museum air duct and find themselves in a Pompeii
diorama where Mount Vesuvius is about to erupt.

On
being funny, Wilson relates that “My dad had a great sense of humor
and on both sides of my family, humor was the way that the family
related to each other. My mom had a good sense of humor, but my dad
was hilarious. My dad was the head of the public television station
in Dallas and that was the first station to carry MONTY PYTHON. He
really loved MONTY PYTHON. So I think that being around him and his
friends growing up was very helpful for me. And though I
didn't have a background as a stand up comedian and as a child I
didn't ever think about becoming a comedian. In school I wasn't
really a class clown, but I would get into trouble and sometimes give
colorful answers to what I perceived to be banal questions from
teachers, and that would make the other kids laugh and sometimes I’d
get the teachers laughing a little bit. So maybe there’s a little
bit of that in my background.”

Returning
to “Night at the Museum,” Wilson believes that like the movie,
there is an underlying magical charm in the movie, “Apart from its
great adventure, what's also nice is that it’s led to an upswing in
kids' interest in museums - and the Natural History Museum. So that's
a great thing that's happened and I think that is really because of
Ben and Shawn and the way Shawn's able to mix the laughs with
something that can be very touching. He just seems to have that
touch.”

One
of the most gifted and versatile actors of his generation, Owen
Wilson has starred in a slew of hit films. His early credits include
“The Cable Guy,” “Armageddon” and “Permanent Midnight.”
He further starred “Bottle Rocket,” “Rushmore,” “Zoolander,”
“Marley & ME,” “Wedding Crashers,” “Meet The Parents,”
“Starsky & Hutch,” “The Internship,” “The Royal
Tenenbaums,” (for which Wilson and Anderson received a Best
Original Screenplay Oscar nomination), “The Darjeeling Limited,”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” and most recently, the highly praised film,
“The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

“Night
at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” opens January 8 in
cinemas nationwide from 20th Century
Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

The
wait is almost over, as “Love, Rosie” opens up in cinemas
thisJanuary 8 in local (Phils.) cinemas where two of today’s
most loved young actors Lily Collins and Sam Claflin star as Rosie
and Alex who have been best friends since they were five. When it
comes to love, life and making the right choices, these two are their
own worst enemies. But one awkward turn at 18, one missed
opportunity...and life sends them hurling in different directions.
Could they be the one true love for each other after all?

Based
on Cecelia Ahern’s bestselling novel “Where Rainbows End”,
LOVE, ROSIE is a sassy, heart-warming, and utterly modern
comedy-of-errors tale posing the ultimate question: Do we really only
get one shot at true love? “How do you adapt a book
that’s all texts and emails,” says producer Simon Brooks of one
of the project’s
biggest challenges – the novel’s epistolary structure, composed
around the emails, letters and text messages which Alex and Rosie
exchange. “How do you make that into a movie?”

In
director Christian Ditter’s new film Love, Rosie, Lily Collins and
Sam Claflin star as Rosie and Alex, childhood friends
seemingly destined to be together, yet a couple which fate itself
seems determined to keep apart. The film paints a rich and textured
canvas of a complicated yet lifelong bond between Rosie and Alex,
beginning in their childhood, spanning a trans-Atlantic separation,
and enduring ups and downs of romantic liaisons with everyone but
each other resulting in some bittersweet consequences.

To
adapt Ahern’s novel to the screen, Kulzer and Brooks turned to the
British screenwriter Juliette Towhidi, whose credits include the 2003
award-winning hit comedy, Calendar Girls, with Helen Mirren and Julie
Walters.

“She
was like a detective,” also says producer RobertKulzer of Towhidi’s
process of adapting Ahern’s unconventional novel. “She was
extracting plot and story points, creating her own world around these
episodes that Cecilia had created in her novel.”

“It
was clear to everyone that how Cecilia had written ‘Where Rainbows
End’ wouldn’t translate verbatim to the screen,” explains
Towhidi, who also reset the story in England. “What the filmmakers
wanted me to do was to keep the spirit of what Cecilia had
written.” “Cecelia has a delightful love of her
characters which makes it easy to bring them to life, and I wanted
Rosie and Alex’s relationship to be real,” Towhidi continues.

“Indeed,
I loved writing for all the characters, even the minor ones. You want
to give them all killer lines so that every appearance on screen
counts, no matter how small the role.” “I think what Juliette did
with the book is fantastic,” says Ahern, who phoned the filmmakers
directly to congratulate them once she’d read the final draft of
Towhidi’s screenplay. “She brought out the humor – it was both
funny and edgy – and it also had a lot of heart,” says Ahern.
“What was important to me was that the essence of the novel was
brought out in the film and I was really proud of the script Juliette
had delivered.”

Honestly, we enjoyed the first film Praybeyt Benjamin in 2011. It earned a lot and once became the highest grossing Filipino movie of all time. Now at the start of the MMFF season this year, we are not surprised to see this unnecessary sequel back for another round. Unfortunately, the film looks drastically annoying, and we simply wished that this film just never existed.

After saving the country in the first film, Benjamin Santos VIII (Vice Ganda) continues to be a great soldier which made him change his attitude and arrogant. With another terrorist group threatening the country, Benjie needs to earn the trust of his Commanding General's son (Bimby Aquino-Yap) to know where are the exact locations of the bombs planted by the terrorists.

We are not really sure why on the earth, we did see this film first. The trailer isn't funny and yet; a lot of people line-up to see it. The jokes are just simply corny, especially the "Plant VS Zombies" part and the very stupid way on how to detonate a bomb. There are also tons of other unfunny comedic ideas throughout the film that is cliched. But still there are some good jokes that made us laugh especially when Alex Gonzaga is on the screen but that is all for us to enjoy.

Overall, The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin is just a waste of time and money. We still find Vice funny at times, but we rather watch "Petrang Kabayo" again or watch "GGV" instead.

Walt
Disney Pictures' “Into the Woods,” the contemporary retelling of
the classic fairy tales, has been nominated for major Golden Globe
Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, Best
Actress for Emily Blunt who plays the Baker's Wife, and Best
Supporting Actress for Meryl Streep for playing the Witch.

Rob
Marshall, producer and director of “Into the Woods,” reacted to
the nominations thus, "On behalf of my fellow producers, John
DeLuca and Marc Platt, I want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press
for this wonderful honor. I am so proud to have been a part of
bringing Stpehen Sondheim and James Lapine’s beloved and profound
work to the screen, and equally proud of the extraordinary cast who
brought it to life with such passion and heart."

For
her part, Emily Blunt has issued this statement: “Thank you to the
Hollywood Foreign Press for embracing the Baker's Wife and
recognizing this film that I am so proud to be a part of. Playing
this part made me stretch myself as an actor and muster up any
courage I could to find my singing voice. It was so worth it to be a
part of Rob Marshall's beautiful and moving film that means so much
to me.”

The
72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards will be presented
on January 11, 2015 in Los Angeles.

Directed
by Oscar® nominee and DGA Award winner Rob Marshall and produced by
Emmy® winner and Golden Globe® nominee John DeLuca, Rob Marshall,
Marc Platt, and Callum McDougall, “Into the Woods” brings the
Tony Award®-winning musical classic and such memorable songs as
“Children Will Listen,” “On the Steps of the Palace,” “No
One is Alone” and “Agony,” to life on the big screen.The film
is based on the musical stageproduction byeight-time Tony, GRAMMY®
and Oscar-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim and Tony
winner James Lapine, who also wrote the screenplay.

In
the film, once upon a time in a far off Kingdom when the Baker (Tony
Award® winner James Corden) was just a child, his Father (BAFTA
Award winner Simon Russell Beale) was caught stealing magic beans
from the vegetable garden of the Witch (three-time Oscar® winner
Meryl Streep) next door. As punishment for losing the precious beans,
the Witch was placed under a curse which made her hideous in
appearance. The Witch, in turn, cast an evil spell on the Baker’s
household, cruelly insuring that the Baker and his Wife would forever
be incapable of having a child.

Years
later, when the Baker and his Wife (Golden Globe® winner Emily
Blunt) learn of the curse, they venture into the Woods to seek out
the ingredients which will both reverse the spell and restore the
Witch’s beauty. By the time the blue moon rises in three days’
time, something which only occurs once every 100 years, they must
return with four items: a cow as white as milk, hair as yellow as
corn, a cape as red as blood and a slipper as pure as gold.

On
their journey into the Woods, they encounter: Cinderella (Oscar® and
Tony® nominee Anna Kendrick) fleeing the Palace in a pair of gold
slippers; Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) on her way to
Granny’s house while being pursued by the Wolf (three-time Oscar
nominee Johnny Depp); the fair maiden Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy),
held captive by the Witch in a tower with no doors; and young Jack
(Daniel Huttlestone) en route to the market to sell his cherished
cow, Milky-White, to appease his exasperated Mother (seven-time Emmy®
winner Tracey Ullman). Each one on their own quest to fulfill a wish.

The
third midnight approaches, and the Baker and his Wife,
having produced the required ingredients through a combination of
theft, bribery and deceit, deliver them to the Witch. Soon the
Witch’s curse is lifted, rendering her beautiful once more. The
Baker and his Wife magically give birth to the child they so longed
for. Cinderella breaks free from her evil Stepmother (Emmy® and
two-time Tony Award® winner Christine Baranski) and stepsisters
Florinda and Lucinda (Emmy winner Tammy Blanchard and Lucy Punch) and
marries her Prince (Critics’ Choice Award nominee Chris Pine).
Rapunzel is freed from exile by her Prince (Tony nominee Billy
Magnussen), and the giant beanstalk which sprouted from the magic
beans Jack received in exchanged for his cow, has led to riches
beyond his Mother’s wildest dreams.

However,
just at the moment of happily ever after, a terrifying, vengeful Lady
Giant (Tony® and Olivier Award winner Frances De La Tour) climbs
down from the beanstalk, wreaking destruction on the Kingdom, the
village and the enchanting forest. Forced to face the consequences of
their desires, the group of characters who have befriended one
another in the Woods, must come together and take responsibility for
their actions before they can defeat the Giant. Only then, will they
discover the significance of each of their individual journeys.

Opening
across the Philippines on January 28, 2015, “Into the Woods”
is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International
through Columbia Pictures.

For
Master Gregory, explains producer Basil Iwanyk, the filmmakers needed
an actor who “could play grumpy and taciturn and irascible, aged
but still lively and youthful, charming when he wants to be and has a
great physicality.” They felt that Jeff Bridges fit that bill.
“He’s always been one of the best American actors, and he’s a
true box-office draw, having established those credentials with films
like `TRON: Legacy' and `True Grit.' There are a lot of actors who
feel very familiar in movies in this genre and we knew Jeff would
bring his own spin to this, which he has. He created this incredible
character.”

“Master
Gregory is somebody who has got a lot of miles on him and is very
weary,” elaborates producer Jillian Share. “He has the burden of
keeping the forces of evil at bay, yet without the appreciation of
those he helps. They want him around when there’s trouble, but they
don’t want his friendship. Jeff does an amazing job of capturing
that pain, and there’s great character work here.”

The
actor agreed to the role of the last surviving member of an ancient
order of elite warriors, and now shares the reasons that inspired him
to get involved with `Seventh Son': “One of them was the wonderful
book that Joe Delaney wrote. The story is just a bit darker, a bit
edgier than the classic fight between good and evil; things are not
so black and white. The other was the chance to work with director
Sergei Bodrov. I saw his film `Prisoner of the Mountains' —a
wonderful film—and also `Mongol,' and I knew that if he were in
charge, we’d be in good hands.”

Bridges
discusses that his director’s style was very needed in a physically
challenging role: “Sergei is now one of my favorites. His type of
direction, which is very inclusive, encourages you to give all you’ve
got. He’s not afraid to change things at the last minute. He’s
assembled these artists, these magicians, together and he trusts
them. He creates the space for all of this to happen. It’s almost
just as important what you don’t say as what you do say. Sergei has
a very light touch with his direction, and he was wonderful to work
with.”

In
a time of enchantments when legends and magic collide, the sole
remaining warrior of a mystical order (Jeff Bridges) travels to find
a prophesized hero born with incredible powers, the last Seventh Son
(Ben Barnes). Torn from his quiet life as a farmhand, the unlikely
young hero embarks on a daring adventure with his battle-hardened
mentor to vanquish a dark queen (Julianne Moore) and the army of
supernatural assassins she has dispatched against their kingdom.

Opening
across the Philippines on Thursday, Jan. 8, “Seventh Son” is
distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia
Pictures.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

20th Century
Fox, avant-garde studio behind breakthrough concepts in
filmmaking such as the immersive 3D technology in “Avatar,” the
better-than-ever sequels of franchise films such as “Ice Age” and
superheroes such as “X-Men” films, non-stop heart-pounding action
flicks and phenomenal book-to-film adaptations of “The Fault In Our
Stars,” “Life of Pi” and “Maze Runner”
welcomes 2015 with unforgettable and highly-entertaining movies
poised to set new box-office records.

Ben
Stiller and the his magical friends and new ones are back in
the third and final instalment of “Night at the Museum”
franchise, “Night
at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.” The
adventure begins when Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) discovers that the
iconic historical heroes, seems to be out of control – fighting,
brandishing guns and causing chaos at the Museum of Natural History,
where Larry runs the extraordinary ‘Night Program’ and must find
a way to keep the magic alive.

“Taken
3” will
prove that Brian Mills is up to the task and better than anyone there
will ever be in protecting his family with his particular set of
skills as ex-covert agent in this third instalment of the hugely
successful action franchise. In the movie, the game has
changed and the stakes at its highest, Mills is a fugitive on the
run, after being framed for a murder and is hell-bent to uncover the
group behind the killing.

Michael
Keaton puts on his winning cape in the highly-acclaimed“Birdman”
(or “The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance”) along
with an ensemble of an impressive cast including Edward Norton, Zach
Galifianakis, Amy Ryan, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough and Emma
Stone. Keaton plays Riggan Thomas, a washed up actor who
refused an offer to play the fourth time to reprise his role in the
highly successful “Birdman” movies. Instead, he tries
to reinvent himself by writing and directing a stage play that would
push him further as an actor.

Academy-Award
winner Reese Witherspoon stars in “Wild,” an
adaptation of the biographical book (of the same title) by Cheryl
Strayed that reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller
List. The book likewise was the first featured reading material in
Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 where Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed who
decided to take on a journey to self-discovery by trekking a 1,100
mile lone hike to put her life back together again.

Taking
the audience into the depths of thrills in the espionage
game,“Kingsman:
The Secret Service” introduces
a team of newly-trained spy recruits who battle a twisted genius,
based upon the acclaimed comic book by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons
starring Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine, Mark Strong,
Sophie Cookson and Taron Egerton.

While
in “Spy,” the
world’s most covert of spies have been injured and exposed where
the only remaining choice to save the world is an unassuming unsung
desk analyst within the undercover organization directed by Paul Feig
starring Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law, Jason Statham, Allison Janney
and Rose Byrne.

A
supernatural team in “B.O.O.
(Bureau of Otherworldly Operations)”
comes to the rescue dedicated to protect humans from evil hauntings,
the agents of B.O.O. have a secret weapon: they are ghosts
themselves! When newbie agents Jackson Moss and his odd-ball partner
Watts uncover a plot to destroy B.O.O. by the agency's Most Wanted
Haunter, they must use every trick in their arsenal to defeat his
powerful ghost army and save Earth from a ghostly fate.

Vince
Vaughn, Dave Franco and Tm Wilkinson work hard to play hard
in“Unfinished
Business,” –
where the three travel to Europe for the deal of their lives and keep
on getting tangled in a series of unfortunate hilarious events that
will make or break their budding business venture.

2012’s box-office
surprise hit “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’s” sequel“Second
Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is
about to charm the second time around where Dame Judi Dench, Dame
Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy and Dev Patel reprise their roles. Joining
the sequel is Richard Gere where we see the famed hotel is now
expanding into a chain.

Four-time
Emmy-winner Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory”), Rianna and
Jennifer Lopez lend vocal star power in DreamWorks Animation’s
delightful family film “Home.” Parsons
star as the voice of a purple alien called Oh and meets Tip (Rianna)
on his attempt to hide from the rest of his species. Lopez
stars as Tip’s mother, Lucy. Both on the run, Oh and Tip
embark on a thrilling road trip to save the earth.

Based
on Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel, “The
Longest Ride”tracks
a 91-year-old man trapped in a car crash who reflects on his life
with his deceased wife as a young couple fall in love a few miles
away. In his first major leading role, Scott Eastwood will play
Luke Collins, whose love affair with college senior Sophia Danko
plays out as the youthful half of the romantic saga.

Based
on Thomas Hardy’s 1874 novel of the same title, “Far
From the Madding Crowd” stars
Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba Everdene – an independent, beautiful
and single-minded woman who attracts three distinct suitors. This
timeless story of Bathsheba’s choices and passions explore the
nature of relationships and love in the midst of hardships.

The
most horrifying horror movie of the 80’s is back for another
haunting in the reimagining and contemporizing of “Poltergeist”
in 3D. Legendary
filmmaker Sam Raimi and director Gil Kenan team up to bring
the horror classic about a family whose home is invaded by very angry
evil spirits. When the terrifying apparitions escalate
their attacks and take the youngest daughter, the family must come
together to rescue her.

“The
Fantastic Four” reboot
is the contemporary re-imagining of Marvel's original and
longest-running superhero team. The movie is about four
young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe,
which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives
irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting
new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend
turned enemy.

At
the heels of the highly successful adaptation of John Green’s “The
Fault In Our Stars,” Green’s “Paper
Towns” has
also been adapted to film starring Nat Wolff about a geeky high
school senior’s search for the most popular girl who disappeared on
the eve of their graduation.

“Hitman:
Agent 47” is
based on the top-selling and award-winning videogame franchise "Agent
47”. An all-new motion picture about an elite and genetically
engineered assassin, known only by the last two digits – 47 – of
a barcode tattooed on the back of his neck. His latest target is a
young woman on the run from powerful and clandestine forces. The
mission brings startling revelations about the lethal agent and his
prey, hurtling them on a collision course with their pasts. And
this time, his number may be up.

The
second book of “The Maze Runner” series by James Dashner, “The
Scorch Trials”
has also been adapted on the big screen following the successful
release of the first movie and will continue where the first one left
off. This time, after the Gladers have escaped the Maze,
they now face a new set of games out in the world ravaged by flares
and diseases.

Daniel
Radcliffe and James McAvoy star in “Victor
Frankenstein,”based
on Igor’s (hunchback assistant of Dr. Frankenstein) perspective –
of his dark origins, his redemptive friendship with young medical
student Victor Von Frankenstein and how Frankenstein, the legend we
know today came to be.

Snoopy,
the world’s most lovable beagle – and flying ace – embarks upon
his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his
arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins
his own epic quest in“Peanuts
Movie” (3D).

Andy
Weir’s phenomenal self-published book, “The
Martian” also
leaps from pages to screen. Directed by Ridley Scott, the
movie is about an outer space adventure starring Matt Damon, Jessica
Chastain, Kate Mara, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean and Kristen Wiig that
follows the story of astronaut Mark Watney, one of the first people
on Mars. He is left behind by his crewmates after a dust storm tears
through the area and has to find a way to survive being stranded on
the Red Planet.

Twelve
years ago, following the phenomenal success of the big screen
adaptation of the Broadway musical “Chicago” (which won six
Academy Awards®, including Best Picture), director Rob Marshall sat
down with Stephen Sondheim and expressed an interest in directing a
film version of one of the legendary composer’s stage productions.
At the top of Sondheim’s list: “Into the Woods,” one of his
most acclaimed – and poignant – works, and one which he thought
would be a perfect fit for Marshall.

Marshall
and his producing partner, John DeLuca, had been fans of Sondheim and
James Lapine’s landmark musical since it opened on Broadway at the
Martin Beck Theatre in 1987. In describing the piece Marshall says,
“The story seamlessly intertwines Sondheim’s emotional, funny and
brilliant score with Lapine’s intricate and masterful book, which
is a modern twist on several beloved fairy tales, and is
entertaining, while examining complex themes like the consequences of
wishes, the parent/child relationship, greed, ambition, loss, and,
perhaps most importantly, unconditional love and the power of the
human spirit.”

Then
in 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Marshall heard
President Obama addressing the families of the victims. In an effort
to console them, Obama said, “You are not alone...No one is alone.”
The phrase “No One is Alone,” which is also one of the most
moving and memorable songs from “Into the Woods,” struck a chord
with Marshall, and in that moment he knew that the time was finally
right to bring the beloved musical to the screen.

“In
many ways, I think ‘Into the Woods’ is a fairy tale for the 21st
century post 9/11 generation,” Marshall says. “Sondheim and
Lapine were way ahead of their time when they wrote it. The
comforting knowledge that we are not alone in this unstable world
gives us all that glimmer of hope.”

For
Sondheim, “’No One Is Alone’” was written as a community
song. “I believe Arthur Wing Pinero said that in writing a play,
you tell the audience what you’re going to do, you do it and then
you tell them that you’ve done it. If you tell them that you’ve
done it, then it makes a package,” he says.

“’No
One Is Alone’ tells them that we’ve done it,” Sondheim
explains. “This is what the show has been about. No one is alone:
we are all connected in some way and we are all responsible for each
other’s actions. It’s something I believe firmly and it’s
something that’s worth writing about.”

Marshall
and DeLuca took their passion project to Disney, and immediately knew
they had found the perfect company to bring the stage musical to
life. “We were thrilled that the company embraced the project the
way that they did,” says Marshall. “They were truly interested in
expanding the definition of what a ‘modern fairy tale’ film could
be.”

Producer
Marc Platt, who joined the duo in making the film, says, “Disney is
a company that historically tells the classic fairy tales, so moving
forward it should also be the company that finds new, contemporary
and unexpected ways to tell these stories.”

So
after 27 years, the long-awaited classic was set to begin its journey
forward. “The Woods of our story is universal, and can mean so many
things,” Marshall says. “It is the place you go to find your
dreams, confront your fears, lose yourself, find yourself, grow up
and learn to move forward. It’s all part of life. So ‘Into the
Woods’ we go, again and again...”

“Into
the Woods” is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy
tales, intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring
the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. This
humorous and heartfelt musical follows the classic tales of
Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford),
Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel Huttlestone), and Rapunzel (MacKenzie
Mauzy)—all tied together by an original story involving a baker and
his wife (James Corden & Emily Blunt), their wish to begin a
family and their interaction with the witch (Meryl Streep) who has
put a curse on them.

The
principal cast is led by Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden,
Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp.

Opening
across the Philippines on January 28, 2015, “Into the Woods”
is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International
through Columbia Pictures.

The
new trailer for Ron Howard's “In the Heart of the Sea” starring
Chris Hemsworth, has just been released by Warner Bros. Pictures and
may be viewed below:

In
the winter of 1820, the Essex was assaulted by something no one could
believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense
of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman
Melville’s Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story. “In the
Heart of the Sea” reveals the encounter’s harrowing aftermath, as
the ship’s surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to
do the unthinkable to stay alive. Braving storms, starvation, panic
and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs,
from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as
their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first
mate still seeks to bring the great whale down.

“In
the Heart of the Sea” stars Chris Hemsworth (“The Avengers,”
“Rush”) as the vessel’s veteran first mate Owen Chase; Benjamin
Walker (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”) as its inexperienced
Captain, George Pollard; Cillian Murphy (“The Dark Knight Rises”)
as second mate Matthew Joy; and Ben Whishaw (“Skyfall”) as
novelist Herman Melville, whose inquiries into the event 30 years
later helped bring the story to light.

Tom
Holland (“The Impossible”) also stars as young seaman Tom
Nickerson, and Brendan Gleeson (“Edge of Tomorrow”) as the same
man, 30 years later. Spanish actor Jordi Mollà (“Riddick”) is
the captain of another ship, the Archimedes, who tries to warn the
Essex of what may lie ahead.

Howard
directed from a screenplay by Charles Leavitt (“Blood Diamond”),
story by Charles Leavitt and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (“Rise
of the Planet of the Apes”), based on In the Heart of the
Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel
Philbrick, winner of the 2000 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

Opening
across the Philippines on March 12, 2015 in theaters and
IMAX®, “In the Heart of the Sea” is distributed by Warner Bros.
Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Smith
stars as Nicky, a seasoned master of misdirection who becomes
romantically involved with novice con artist Jess (Robbie). As he’s
teaching her the tricks of the trade, she gets too close for comfort
and he abruptly breaks it off. Three years later, the former
flame—now an accomplished femme fatale—shows up in Buenos Aires
in the middle of the high stakes racecar circuit. In the midst of
Nicky’s latest, very dangerous scheme, she throws his plans for a
loop…and the consummate con man off his game.

“Focus”
is written and directed by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa (“Crazy,
Stupid, Love.”).

Opening
across the Philippine on February 25, 2015, “Focus” is
distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment
company.

Chris
Hemsworth (the “Thor” films) tries to stop a mysterious
cybercriminal in the latest trailer for Universal Pictures and
Legendary Pictures' thriller “Blackhat” which may be viewed below:

The
film, whose topic is as timely as the current headlines, is directed
and produced by Michael Mann (“Collateral,” “Public Enemies”).

Set
within the world of global cybercrime, “Blackhat” follows a
furloughed convict (Hemsworth) and his American and Chinese partners
as they hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los
Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta.

The
film also stars Viola Davis, Tang Wei and Wang Leehom, and it is
written by Morgan Davis Foehl and Mann. Legendary’s Thomas Tull and
Jon Jashni produce alongside Mann, while Alex Garcia and Eric McLeod
serve as the executive producers.

Opening
across the Philippines on January 21, 2015, “Blackhat” is
distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia
Pictures.

“The
Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” charged to the top of the
global box office, and has now earned more than $350 million. The
film, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Pictures (MGM), is the conclusion to Peter Jackson’s acclaimed “The
Hobbit” Trilogy based on the timeless classic by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The
joint announcement was made December 21 by Toby Emmerich, President
and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema; Sue Kroll, President of
Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros.
Pictures; Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner
Bros. Pictures; and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of
International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Beginning
with sold-out preview screenings in the U.S., the film has earned
$90.63 million domestically. “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five
Armies” also expanded across the majority of international markets,
taking in $105.5 million over the weekend. The international total
stands at $265 million and counting.

Internationally,
opening day showings for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five
Armies” were sold out, some weeks in advance, and thousands of fans
waited in line to journey to Middle-earth one last time. In the
Philippines, the film has already grossed an amazing P157.51-million
after only ten days and is still the No.1 movie in its second week.

The
film enjoyed the biggest opening day of year in a number of key
markets, including Germany, Scandinavia and the director’s home
country of New Zealand, where it had the widest release ever in that
country. The film also became the biggest Warner Bros. opening in
Russia, Serbia and Ukraine, and shot to #1 in Brazil and Mexico,
where it went up against the final match of the Mexican Soccer
League.

“The
Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” also broke records for the
biggest opening of all time in Sweden, Finland, Croatia and Czech
Republic; and the biggest opening of the year in Spain, Germany,
Russia, Holland, Switzerland, Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Slovakia
and Slovenia. The film is yet to open in a number of markets,
including China on January 23, as well as Australia, Argentina,
Iceland and Uruguay, as well as Poland and other Eastern European
territories.

Additionally,
the film set records in IMAX®, taking in $13.62 million on 360
domestic screens, marking the biggest December opening and the
biggest opening for “The Hobbit” Trilogy. Internationally, the
weekend total was $6.5 million on 217 IMAX screens for an
international total of more than $15 million to date, including the
biggest IMAX opening of all time in the UK, Germany and Austria.

In
making the announcement, Emmerich stated, “For Peter Jackson, the
adventure that began with his benchmark ‘The Lord of the Rings’
Trilogy has reached a high water mark with this incredible response
to the epic finale of ‘The Hobbit’ Trilogy. Along with our
colleagues at Warner Bros. and MGM, we congratulate Peter on this
exciting conclusion to his 16-year endeavor to bring this enduring
saga to life for millions of moviegoers all over the world.”

Kroll
stated, “We are very proud to have accompanied Peter Jackson and
his remarkable team of collaborators on his hugely successful
cinematic journey. The positive response of both critics and
audiences to this final film in ‘The Hobbit’ Trilogy is a tribute
to the talents of everyone who dedicated years to bringing these
ambitious films to fruition, and we applaud them all on this
tremendous success.”

Fellman
said, “This is an extraordinary start for our final adventure in
Middle-earth. We are excited by the enthusiasm of moviegoers, who
have already made ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ a
blockbuster, and this is just the beginning. We expect word of mouth
to continue to drive the box office through the holiday season and
well into the new year.”

Kwan
Vandenberg noted, “This is a timeless story that speaks to
audiences all over the world, and the anticipation for the Trilogy’s
electrifying finale has yielded tremendous results. Everywhere it’s
opened, the film has seen huge debuts, strong holds and amazing buzz,
and the momentum will only build as we move into 2015.”

In
all releasing markets, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
surpassed the #1 openings of the two preceding films in the Trilogy,
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “The Hobbit: The
Desolation of Smaug,” which were released a year apart, starting in
December 2012, with the first going on to earn more than a billion
dollars worldwide and the second earning upwards of $950 million.

Showing
through the holiday season in IMAX and 4DX cinemas, “The
Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” is distributed by Warner
Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.